


Blooded

by potionsmaster



Series: Dogs of War [1]
Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual MShenko - Freeform, F/M, First Time Shifting, Gen, Headbutting is a Renegade Interrupt, Marital Problems, Relationship Problems, Renegade - Freeform, Torfan, Werewolves in Space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:35:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27317113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potionsmaster/pseuds/potionsmaster
Summary: Torfan holds a lot of things for Mark Shepard, all in one tremulous, held breath. His career. His family’s future. His family’s past. Perhaps once the mission is completed, he can lay to rest the ghosts of Mindoir and their memories in his mind and move forward, find a new purpose. He’s done whatever it took to survive so far after losing everything he cared about in the colony raid, threw himself into the military and wound up in black ops, fighting the monsters that took his family from him. He’s always come out on top and has no plans to let that change.And then they dropped boots on Torfan and he entered the fight for his life.
Relationships: Kaidan Alenko & Male Shepard, Male Shepard (Mass Effect)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Dogs of War [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1994353
Comments: 55
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been batting around a werewolf AU behind the scenes for a few years now, and here it is. This particular version started as a collab but it didn’t work out. I was in a really rough spot right then and have been for over a year, and Mark’s journey in this has been my refuge to think about. Just like Blake in my [Death Wish series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/630674), Mark's story here is me processing my situation through him. It’s probably saved me more than even I know. Thanks to [Jake/Kate Shepard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kate_Shepard/works) for the idea that spawned Mark’s character arch and pushed some of my ideas into further development; I’ve kept my ideas from the collab and changed their parts; any similarities are genre bleed over.
> 
> Special thanks especially to [ShepardDragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShepardDragon/works) for letting me pick their brain on military things and [CrimsonShield75](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimsonShield75/works) for looking it over and letting me borrow an ear for hours to work out plot details. Thanks to everyone else for all the love and support during the emotional fallout. Divorce is never easy. I hope you enjoy the ride. It's a rough trail in places, but… I think the end is worth it. A/b/o dynamics with the werewolves.

**_Blooded_** , by potionsmaster

Rating: M for violence

* * *

  
  


_2178, SSV Jakarta, Kite’s Nest: Harsa System_

Mark was uneasy. He’d been getting uneasier the closer the ship had been getting to their destination, though he supposed that was only natural, given the mission. The water from the shower pounded down on him, staccato drops on his skin doing nothing to sooth the tension in his muscles. Not that he had a lot of time in the rain locker to allow it to relax him; two minutes total from start to finish in order to conserve water and move people in and out. He dragged his feet a little on rinsing, though, running his fingers through his buzz cut and clearing the suds that stopped erupting from under them. Other people in the showers started shutting theirs off and gathering their towels and he sighed, doing the same. _One batch out, next batch in._

“Smell that?” one of the other soldiers muttered to another as the next group filed in. “Smells like wet fuckin’ _dog.”_ The second soldier stifled a laugh and shoved the first one ahead of him. The new group pointedly ignored them. One of the things that Mark was uneasy about was how many werewolves were on board for the mission. 'War packs', as they were colloquially called, were known entities in the Alliance, slightly less mysterious than turian cabals, but they were held in just as much awe as they were contempt by many. Having one along on a mission meant the brass expected carnage, and to be the ones inflicting it. He’d worked with a few before in the later classes in N school, and he admired them for their resilience, but having at least six packs on board, and rather large ones at that, was somewhat troublesome to his mind.

“Better that than a hairless pink ape,” a large, dark-haired man muttered, giving the two soldiers a sidelong glance as they filed past. Mark snorted and caught his eye, giving him a grin. 

“Ain’t that the damn truth,” he chuckled back. The other man gave him a tight grin in return. 

“Unfortunately, most don’t see it that way. Ah well.”

“Ah well indeed.”

* * *

  
  


Mark had his tray of what looked to be food and was looking for a spot when he saw a familiar black french braid at one of the further tables. He made his way over to her, ignoring the stares of the other humans as he crossed the invisible line into shapeshifter territory.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes; didn’t expect to see _you_ here of all places,” he said to the braid. Its owner turned around with a scowl before she recognized him. “Well, well, well. Mark Shepard. Still alive?” she teased.

“Don’t know enough to lay down yet, Vanessa Shetty. How y’be?”

“Surviving,” she answered, smile not reaching her dark, coppery eyes. “Same as you, I suspect.”

“Yeah, well, you know how it goes,” he said, shifting his weight. Motion to the side caught his eye and a flash of recognition washed over him as the dark-haired were from the shower the night before stood up.

“I’m actually done? If you wanted to sit and… catch up?” he broke in, brows furrowed and head tipped to the side. This time Mark noticed the man’s eyes were liquid dark brown with flecks of gold in them, similar to Nessa’s, but not quite. Hers had the reddish quality of looking like they were brown glass tinged with blood. Mark glanced at his nametape. _Alenko._

Mark blinked, focusing back on the conversation and the man standing up in front of him with an empty tray. “Oh, that’s alright. I was just comin’ over to say hello.”

“Thanks for the offer, Kaidan, but I’m done myself. Plus we have to go over equipment in 15. And the lift is disgustingly slow,” Nessa griped, tossing a balled up paper napkin on her tray before standing up herself. “Good to see you, Shepard. It’s reassuring to know we’ll have at least one competent human on the ground with us. Even if he is a stubborn sonuvabitch who doesn’t know _manners.”_ She gave him a half-grin and gazed up at him.

“Give as good as I get, darlin’,” he replied with a smirk and stepped back to give her and her taller companion room. “It’s reassurin’ I’ll have at least one wolf who knows their ass from a hole in the ground out there with us. You in the chain of command? Or a grunt?”

She returned his smirk, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “‘Alpha’ bitch, aka unit commander of the ‘war pack’ unit Zero Prime. Mess with any of mine, I’ll rip your goddamn throat out.” Her bored tone didn’t match her words as her tray gently poked into his belly to push him further back before she and Alenko moved past. “Good to see you again. Take care.”

“You, too.” He watched the two of them leave and made his way back to the unofficial human side of the room, remaining weres staring at him.

“Um, what’re you doing?” Barnes asked as he slid his tray on the table and sat down.

“Saw someone I recognized and said hello. What’s it to you?”

“It’s _weird_ that you’re so familiar with the dogs. People are talking. What would your wife say if she knew you were fraternizing with them? Your kid?”

Mark shrugged. “Don’t think it much matters to her, since I’m here and she’s not. It’s not somethin’ I really seek her opinion on, y’know?”

Barnes shrugged back. “Sure, I guess. Still, though.”

The so-called food tasted about as good as it looked. “Still nothin’. Shetty was at the Villa with me; I trust her a fuckton more than I would most other humans at my back, because I know she’ll fuckin’ get the job done.”

“Yeah? What level?” Barnes’ face dropped into an ‘o’ of surprise. “I didn’t think they let dogs into N school.”

“N6. Same as me, last I knew. We were the same class, separate units, though. I didn’t see her at seven quals, but maybe her unit did it at a different location. And when you’re going through the shit we did, you don’t care who’s shoulder it is beside yours, as long as they can pull their weight and do what needs doin’. So yeah, I went to say hello.”

“Wait, wait, wait, _hold_ up. N7 quals?” Barnes paused, staring at him. “You’re N _7?”_

“Mhm. I’ll get pinned and be official when I get back from this mission.”

“Shit…” the shorter man remarked.

“Took the word right out of my mouth. Speakin’ of which, don’t forget we have comm privileges in the day room comin’ up.” 

Barnes stayed silent the rest of the meal.

* * *

  
  


Mark wasn’t paying all that much attention as he was finishing up his PT and gathering his things to bring to his locker. He made his way to the lift and was promptly taken aback as the breath was knocked out of him, a solid mass of dark-haired muscle with golden-flecked dark eyes smashed into him just outside the elevator door. _Alenko._ They both grabbed each other by their biceps, steadying each other in the confusion.

“ _Oh_ , my god, I am so _sorry,_ I didn’t even see you there-”

“-‘Salright. I shouldn’t have been standin’ in the way.”

“No, I shouldn’t have been in so much of a hurry.” 

Mark shifted his bag on his shoulder and dropped his hands off the other man’s arm; he gave a small, sharp inhale as he caught the small insignia on his uniform. _Alpha_. That would explain why it had been like running into a goddamn brick wall. Alphas were stereotyped as physically larger and more densely muscled than the betas or omegas, though it wasn’t always the case from his limited understanding. This one seemed to uphold the stereotype in spades. “Oh, no, don’t worry about it. Seriously. No harm, no foul. Just bad timin’ on my end; I didn’t think anybody was goin’ to be in there when the doors opened, so I just went. Sorry.”

A warm and empty smile split the slightly shorter man’s face. “Well, since we’re both sorry, and going the opposite direction, I’d say I won’t waste anymore of your time and be on my way.”

“Sounds good, heh. See ya in passin’, I’m sure.” Mark got on the elevator and hit the button for crew deck.

“I’ve no doubts. See you around.” The doors slid shut, blocking the werewolf from view.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The not-quite calm before the storm, as it were

**_Blooded_** , by potionsmaster

Rating: M for violence

* * *

_2178, SSV Jakarta, Kite’s Nest: Harsa System, entering Verush’s gravitational field_

“I thought you said you were going to get a desk job. This is _not_ a desk job. This is the direct _opposite_ of a desk job. _Mark._ ”

Mark sighed, rubbing the scar bisecting his hairline. This was not how this call was supposed to be going. “Babe, you gotta understand. This goes well, I get promoted and with that comes a pay upgrade and my pick of missions. Which will eventually, yes, include a desk job. But for right now, this is how I gotta get what you want. You want breathin’ room, both financially and in housing, this is how I get that. Can we talk about this when I get back?” A small cough sounded behind him and he groaned inwardly, feeling sorry for the poor, unsuspecting soul sitting behind him who was now going to be subjected to the uncomfortable situation of overhearing a less than stellar discussion between him and his wife.

“Yeah, sure. As long as you don’t go running off on deployment again. Heaven forbid you actually spend time with me or your son,” she snapped. “What was it, three months this time? Before you got antsy to get back in the ‘action’ again? Don’t deny it, I know you volunteered to go before leave was over.” His wife tossed her blonde hair impatiently over her shoulder, scowling. “You couldn’t _wait_ to get out of here and leave us behind again.”

“That’s not true at all and you _know_ it,” he shot back, trying to contain his annoyance. A chair gently scraped behind him this time; he wouldn’t blame the person if they decided to bail. This was shaping up to be a rather nasty conversation and he didn’t want to be around for it, either. “Can you at least put Eli on? I’d like to be able to say, ‘hello, goodbye’ before goin’ dark.”

“It’s past his bedtime,” she said primly. “I don’t want to disturb him. What?” A small voice sounded from behind her as she whipped around to look at its source. “Eli, what’re you doing out of bed? Mommy put you down a half hour ago.”

“I wasn’t sleeping and I heard you talking to Daddy...wanted to say ‘hi’. Hi, Daddy!” A sleepy, dirty blonde-haired boy with bright blue eyes shuffled on screen. “When are you comin’ home?”

“Hey, buddy…” Mark said, softening. No matter anything else, any time he saw or talked to his son he thought things were never as bad as they had seemed before. “Soon, I hope. I just have to take care of these bad guys first, then I’ll be back.”

“Why can’t you be home _now?_ There’s weres in the closet and they’re trying to get me.”

“Naw, that’s not true. ‘Member? I took ‘em all with me. They’re here on the ship. Besides, they don’t live in closets.” He bit back a grin as he heard a suppressed snort behind him; it _was_ kinda funny. Kid logic at its best.

“Oh, my _god_ , they’re on the ship with you?” the woman broke in, disgusted. “Hope they have them chained and collared in the cargo hold.”

“Amie…” he sighed, “We’ve been over this. They’re people. And they don’t need to be chained like fuck-um. Fudgin’...animals. They’re crazy good shock troops, though. That’s what they’re here for. More on board here than I’m used to workin’ with, but. Y’know. That’s how it goes.”

“Yeah, well, make sure you don’t share a water bottle with one.”

“For the love of… It’s not somethin’ you just _catch_ , babe.”

“It’s not just the lycanthropy I’m worried about.”

“You gotta be kiddin’ me. Every person on board this _ship_ has been through a health check and is cleared for duty. You _know_ that.” He thought he heard a disgusted scoff from the chair behind him. _Agreed_. 

“Fine,” she sniffed. “I worry. So does Eli. Don’t you, pal?” The boy rubbed his eyes tiredly while he nodded.

“Come back, Daddy. I miss you.”

“Miss you too, bud. Shouldn’t be as long as last time. Those bad guys are the same ones that hurt your uncles and grandparents. So I’m gonna make sure they can’t hurt anybody else anymore. Then I’ll be home. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“That’s my boy. Don’t worry. Nothin’s been able to take me out yet. And I don’t plan to let that change. So far so good. Right?” He held his fist up to the camera, Eli matching on his end of the screen, chin wavering. “That’s right.”

“Daddy…”

“Yeah, bud.”

“I’m scared. I want you _home._ I don’t wanna be alone. Please?”

His stomach twisted. “Soon, pal. Remember our song?”

“Yeah…” His little boy’s blue eyes, same as his, welled up with tears. He sang softly, pressing his fingertips to the screen on his son’s face.

_“[Just ‘cause I’m leavin’](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ0cdEgkWps), It don’t mean that, I won’t be right by your side. When you need me, and you can’t see me, in the middle of the night. Just close your eyes and say a prayer. It’s ok, I know you’re scared, when I’m not here, but I’ll always be right there. Even though I’m leavin’, I ain’t goin’ nowhere.” _

Eli sniffled as he burrowed in his mother’s arms. She had a carefully blank expression on her face, rocking their child in time to the song. 

“I mean it, Eli. I’m not goin’ anywhere. Show me where I stay when we’re not together?” His son pointed to his chest, right above his heart, and Mark’s entire being ached to be back with him. “Exactly right. And you’re right here, bud. Same spot.” He pointed to his own heart and Eli gave him a wan smile. “Sleep well. I’ll be home sooner than you know. Love you, Eli. Be good for your mama.”

“Love you, too. Bye, Daddy.”

“Bye…” His throat tightened a bit as Eli wandered back to his bedroom and Amie pursed her lips at him again.

“You’re being cruel.”

“How in the _hell_ am I bein’ cruel?”

“Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep,” she snapped. “Christ. Half the time I think you deliberately take the craziest missions you can on the off-chance you’ll die. Newsflash, Mark. They’re _dead._ You trying to kill yourself in combat isn’t going to do anything to change that.” She sighed impatiently, shaking her head. “You know what? I’m done for tonight. I can’t.”

“Amie, I’m not really sure what you’re lookin’ for right now. You want me to get more money and a bigger place, but you don’t want me to do my fuckin’ _job_ to enable me to get it. You say I’m never there, but when I am, you don’t want to be in the same room as me half the time. You want me to be more involved with Eli, and then when I am, you try to make it so we never get to spend time together. Make up your damn mind, woman.”

“If you were _half_ the man you’re supposed to be, none of this would be an issue. But you got your kid and you have your wife to look pretty on your arm, and that’s all you need. Right?”

“That is _not_ true and you _know_ it,” he ground out, jaw clenched. “I have been there _every_ damn time you needed me. Even before he was _born.”_

“Yeah, and I trapped you. Right? Typical bitch, trying to find any old serviceman to rope into a marriage with a baby.”

“Listen up, and listen well, Amie. It was not _your_ fault, or _my_ fault, he came about, and I do not blame you for any of it. I blame the doctor for not tellin’ you the med interactions. But he’s here, and so’m I. Ever since the _day_ you came back to me and said you were pregnant, every move I have _ever_ made has been for you two. So I’d appreciate you not puttin’ words and thoughts in my mouth for you to die on a martyr sword, thank you very _much.”_

“Whatever,” she muttered. “Come home or don’t. I don’t care anymore.”

The screen flickered dark, call terminated. “Love you, too. Bye.” The screen blankly took the salutation from him, though he thought it was probably better received by the computer than the person it was supposed to be directed to. He sighed heavily, rubbing the scar in his hair again as he turned around. “Well, _that_ was nice and happy…” he tried to joke. The dark haired man sitting at the other table was trying to be as inconspicuous as he could. “Sorry ‘bout that. Probably not the nicest thing to be subjected to.”

The man looked up and gave him a sympathetic smile. It was the dark-haired werewolf in Shetty’s pack. “I’m sorry for overhearing. I should’ve been smart and left earlier. It just... seemed like I’d draw more attention by leaving than staying put at the time.” He cocked his head to the side, his brow furrowing slightly. “...you alright?” he asked gently.

“Peachy-keen, cupcake,” Mark sighed, sticking out his hand. “Mark Shepard. You’re...Alenko? Right? Sorry for the circumstance of meetin’ this way. For real this time, anyway.”

Alenko took his hand and gave it an awkward shake after a moment. “You have a good memory! Or... I have a bad one and don’t remember getting formally introduced, but yeah, Kaidan Alenko. And... I’m not sure if ‘nice to meet you’ is appropriate or not, given the timing. So. _Hello_ , I guess, heh.”

A grin spread on his face unwittingly. This guy was alright; deadpan humor was hard to pull off and Alenko had it.

“Hello.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


_2178, SSV Jakarta, Kite’s Nest: Harsa System orbiting Torfan_

The room was dark and close, Major Kyle at the front with a laser pointer going over the layout of the batarian stronghold. “This is Torfan, one of Verush’s moons in the four-eyes’ home system, and this base right here is where we’re going to hit. I want it _done_ , I want them hit so fucking hard they don’t know what _hit_ them, and I want it _fast_ . Get in and get out, get it done in an hour so we all can go home and you can fuck your partners.” The group tittered with some quickly subdued chuckles. “Now, I know that to the public, we are not at war with them. But given how much they hit us below the belt when we’re just trying to scratch out a spot for ourselves in the galaxy, I don’t think any of us really believe the ‘not at war’ bullshit behind closed doors. Make no mistake. They want to kill us. They _are_ killing us. They already _have been_ killing us. And they will. Not. _Stop_. Unless we make it clear that there will be repercussions for it.”

Major Kyle paced in front of them, bristling, and Mark ignored the cold rush in his stomach. Nerves. That’s all it was. Nothing to do with the fuckin’ four-eyes razing his settlement to the ground. Nothing to do with finding his family dead in their home, nothing at all to do with losing everything he ever cared about. 

“The brass wants this to be as big a statement as we can make it. Show them _exactly_ what will happen to them if they continue to keep pulling the shit they are. No mercy. No quarter. Expect none given to you. Now-” the map projected on the wall flipped to a heat scale satellite map “-this here is what we’re up against. They are like fucking termites, all holed up in mounds that extend underground…”

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unto the breach they go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is violent, head's up.

**_Blooded_** , by potionsmaster

Rating: M for violence

* * *

_2178, surface of Verush's moon, Torfan_

It was a motherfucking clusterfuck. Mark had stopped counting the ways it went to hell, because every time he thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse, whatever deity was out there took it as a challenge and showed him it could in spades. They had dropped a decent distance from the compound’s perimeter and managed to successfully surround it, and that’s about where their luck stopped. It had been quiet in the compound until cloaked and shielded turret guns popped up from the dirt and gave away their position while simultaneously calling reinforcements. 

“Jesus fuck, this is nuts,” Higgins muttered next to him as they crouched behind a raised berm. Gunfire spat and rattled around them from both sides, punctuated with the thicker ‘boom’ of the turrets at slower intervals. 

“Nobody said it’d be easy,” Mark griped back, panting. They were gaining ground, but the batarians were making them bleed for it, inch by painful inch. They were caught with their pants around their asses and in turn, getting their asses handed straight back to them. “Oh, _fuck. Scheiss die Wand an…[1]”_ His face paled under his helmet. Higgins paused a moment and followed his gaze. 

Shetty apparently made the decision to send the war packs in much earlier than they had anticipated in order to punch a hole in the defenses; wolves standing up like humans in modified Alliance armor flooded the field, large and imposing as they charged the line. Mark was still cursing as he followed up with his own unit.

He had to admit following in the bloody pawprints of the war packs made his job much easier. What the wolves didn’t outright kill was a mangled mess that needed to be put out of its misery more than anything, and he was more than happy to oblige; it was basically target practice. _One, two, three, four, easy-peasy, lemon squeezy, one, two, three, four._ Higgins blinked at him behind his HUD, as silent a shadow as he could be. 

A batarian struggled to sit up and Mark strode over to it, pistol leveled at its face. It coughed oily blood in a disgusting spray and reached for its own weapon. He methodically put a round in each of its eyes, _one, two, three, four._

Bastard. 

“Shepard, what’re you doing?” Higgins finally asked after the seventh one, unleashing an overload at a distant turret cannon; it looked to be the last. The turret sputtered and shorted out, giving the ground team closer to it the opportunity to finish it off in a small explosion. 

“My damn job,” he replied coldly, popping another batarian struggling to move. _One, two, three, four._ The carnage the wolves left behind was impressive, to say the least. Mangled limbs, torn flesh and ripped chunks missing out of various body parts, wet and gaping holes with unsavory bits and pieces showing… he almost felt sorry for them. “Kyle said ‘no quarter’.”

“Yeah, but you’d think a single round point blank in the head would do it. Why’re you wasting time with extra shots?”

They came upon another batarian, breath gurgling wetly in its throat. Intestines and organs were draped halfway out of its abdomen and spilling out on the ground. Mark wrinkled his nose and took careful aim.

“...checkin’ for a pulse.” _One, two, three, four._ “See? No pulse.”

Higgins pursed his lips again, shaking his head as he surveyed the field, pressing himself flat against a pile of boulders jutting out of the ground. “Whatever you say, sir. Seems to be dying down.” Barnes made his way to them, ducking behind the cover they were huddled behind to review events. 

“Sitrep,” Mark demanded. The other man nodded, slightly out of breath.

“Delta team is taking the east side for recon, Two Prime is going west. They gave ground pretty damn easily, all things considered. It’s like once they figured out we sicced the dogs on them, it wasn’t worth it. And they all ran to one centralized location, the entrance to the bunker. Dumb bastards. Put themselves in a fucking kill box,” he reported. Higgins fired up his omni-tool, brow furrowed as he examined it. Barnes kept talking.

“All teams have maps of the compound, and Bravo team is doing a tech sweep. So far they’ve IDed and confirmed surveillance and jamming tech, no further signs of turrets. They’re trying to figure out the wire bundles and splice in, see if we can do some damage and take them offline. Entrance is-” 

They all looked up when two large, dark shadows slid in next to them. “Chillax, it’s us; Shetty and Alenko. Carry on,” Shetty interrupted. Her voice was growling and deep, much different from her usual sultry tone. They both were shapeshifted, but Mark didn’t know how to label it. He tried not to stare himself; it was fascinating to see the differences close up. They were completely covered in fur, fully ‘wolf’ in the face and ears, but they still walked around on two legs and still had hands like humans did, though their legs had the uncomfortable-looking angle that turians and quarians possessed. Their armor was modified to be able to accommodate their bodies. It still was unreal to him to see and hear the weres when they were in shift; even with training at the Villa in Rio, he’d just been on the periphery with the rest of the humans while the wolf units trained separately. Sure, they’d mixed a little for exposure purposes, but the Alliance was determined to keep them in their own boxes as much as they could.

“Uh, e-entrance is, um, here, and looks to be fortified…” Barnes faltered as he started talking again, giving both wolves nervous glances. Mark saw them exchange a ‘look’, half-amused at the very human expression being so clear on the very canid faces. “Thing of it is, though, it’s very, uh...blatant? Though it’s possible they never thought anybody would hit them here.”

“Mm. They definitely bailed for it as soon as they saw us enter the field,” Shetty rumbled. “I dunno. Seems to me there should be other places they’d try to hide, but then again, they probably don’t want us to know about them.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely strange. Seems like there were more on the ground than were accounted for in initial counts,” Higgins agreed. “Considering how many we brought in comparison to what we found? The difference was visually less than I thought it would be. At least we got ‘em all out here, for the most part. Clearing the stragglers in the hive should be quick.” 

“Orders?” Shetty asked Mark when the layout had been committed to memory and scout parties had checked in. Field was clear. 

“Same as Major Kyle said: get in, clear it, get out. Leave Two Prime out here with Delta so they can stand guard while Delta tries to hack in and take the jammers offline. Zero, One, and Three, take the west side. Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie will take the east.” He pulled his AR off his maglock harness, preparing to move. “Once all is clear, have your engineer send an encrypted message if the interference isn’t absolute shit and we’ll reconvene at the breach point in an hour.”

* * *

  
  


_2178, underground bunker on Verush's moon, Torfan_

Mark still couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling he’d had since dropping his shore bag on his bunk. As they swept through the bunker room by room, it was apparent the intel they received was only partial and it was biting them in the ass at every turn. The batarian numbers were off. The map layouts were terribly incomplete and they kept getting lost, needing to backtrack and losing even more time. 

“Barnes, door security. Zhang, breach man. Renaldo, Higgins, stack up on Barnes,” he muttered, readying his own AR. 

The soldier nodded, holding his rifle steady and level as he kicked in the door, moving aside immediately. A responding blast knocked Barnes down, blood pooling beneath his stilling body, and Zhang instantly tossed a grenade into the room. Even though the sound was muted through his helmet, his ears still rang from the explosion as much from surging adrenaline. Renaldo and Higgins grabbed Barnes and tugged him back, Renaldo calling for a medic Mark wasn’t certain would be able to get to them in time. 

Once Barnes was slid out of the way, Mark and his team swept through the door, firing at the batarians that had been stunned from the flashbang. Zhang, Renaldo, and Higgins cleared the corners of the room where the batarians had wound up. 

“Status,” he called once the gunfire quieted.

“Three enemy, KIA,” Renaldo replied. They all pressed forward to confirm, Mark moving towards the farthest one himself. 

"Confirmed?" 

"Confirmed," he heard Renaldo call back.

“Hold up, two KIA, got a live one!” Zhang broke in, nerves making his voice waver. “Orders?”

“Wipe ‘em. Just like Major Kyle said.” No sense in being too reckless with things. 

“Wait!" Higgins called, poking at a half-functioning console that was blinking in the corner. Zhang leveled his weapon but didn't pull the trigger as the batarian took a wet, rasping breath. 

"What?" Mark asked, impatient. 

"I might need it.”

_“What?”_

“So, this whole thing is basically FUBAR, right? All our intel is fuckin’ jank," the engineer said, pulling up his omni-tool. "Maybe I can pull something out of it. Try to improve our situation." 

Mark considered the request for a moment. Anything to get an edge right now; they needed it. Clock was ticking. He tucked his AR away and pulled out his pistol, keeping it trained on the creature slumped over. "Aight. Do your thing.” He gestured to the batarian. “Zhang, secure ‘im.” 

Higgins connected his omni-tool to the terminal, lines of code scrolling on it faster than Mark could keep up with on it. “Fuck...we...we might have a problem…” He exhaled sharply, frustrated.

“What do you mean?" 

"I don't fuckin’ _know,_ I can't read their shit language,” Higgins huffed in exasperation again, fingers flying over the console, omni-tool blazing orange in the gloom. “But I _do_ know schematics, and if I'm reading this right… give me a minute to try and translate it." 

"We don't _have_ a minute." Making a decision, Mark strode over to the batarian on the ground. Zhang had secured its wrists behind its back and knocked away its weapon. He grabbed it by the forearms and pulled it up, shoving it against the wall. 

"What's he talkin’ about?" he asked the spluttering creature. "What kinda problem are we going to have?" The batarian blinked slowly at him, unable to comprehend at the moment. "I _said_ ," Mark growled, unsheathing his omni-blade and showing it to the alien, "what sorta problem is my team gonna have?" 

"Shit," he heard from behind him. 

"What now?" he called, not taking his eyes off the batarian. It hacked in his face. Thank god for his helmet and face shield. 

Higgins responded, controlled panic in his voice making him speak quickly. "We definitely got a problem, sir. Looks like this place is rigged to blow." Mark turned to the batarian in front of him again.

"Is that true?" A terrible sound that could only be described as a wheezing laugh escaped through the blood bubbling at its lips. 

"Filthy, stupid humans. Stepped right into our trap, like the dumb animals you are." 

"Be a damn shame if something happened to your pretty, pretty eyes. How do I disable it?" Mark asked, bringing his omni-blade closer to its face. Renaldo’s head snapped towards them at that.

"You can't," it said, letting out another terrible cough. It spit blood on the floor. 

"There's got to be a way. Tell me, and I'll ease your passing." 

"The only thing that'll ease my passing is the knowledge that all you pigs went down with me," he answered, baring his teeth in a grotesque, bloody grin and straining against Mark’s bracer. "Long live the Hegemony." It grabbed Mark’s arm and stabbed itself in the ribs with his omni-blade, up and in.

  
“No!” Mark yelled in frustration. He torqued his wrist, scrambling the batarian’s innards to ensure the kill, then unloaded his pistol in the batarian’s face, same pattern as he had before in each of its eyes. _One, two, three, four._ No pulse, and more to the point that he didn’t tell Higgins earlier, no afterlife. Batarians believed their souls left through their eyes after death, but if an enemy destroyed the eyes, it was trapped forever. Fucking piece of shit… It didn’t deserve to have its soul find peace. “Higgins, report. Stat.”

“I tried to stop the countdown and was unable to do it. We have what I _think_ is 30 minutes to get out, or we’ll all get buried. I was able to pull actual maps, though, and I can try to get them out to the other teams, but it might not go through; the walls are so thick, plus the jammers-”

_“Verdammte[2]._ We need to move, ASAP. Fuck radio silence, Higgins, boost the signal as much as you can and get me a secure line. We need to warn the others, _now.”_

They moved as quickly and quietly as they could, backtracking. Mark cursed again as the radio hissed and sputtered in his ear. “You’re as live as you’re going to get right now,” Higgins panted. “Trying to transmit updated maps as we speak.”

“Good,” Mark replied before turning his attention to the radio. “War pack Zero Prime Alpha One, the place is rigged to blow. Retreat advised, repeat, retreat advised!”

_“Acknowledged, Charlie Squad Unit Commander! We suspected something was up; it didn’t smell right. Resistance has been minimal on our end. Felt like we were being fucking led by our noses.”_

“Agreed. Watch your asses; we cleared our sector, but it was almost too easy. I still don’t like it. We’re still tryin’ to get to breach point.”

_“Two Prime is scouting in partial shift, and any insurgents they come across have given ground and fled, barely any cover fire. At least now we know what they were plan- FUCK!”_

Mark’s heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. Shetty’s voice was clipped and rushed over the comm.

_“Four Prime is still on the surface, reporting a massive increase on the heat sig. Shepard, I don’t think you should try to meet up with us. We’re about to get ambushed. RETREAT! ALL SHIFTER UNITS, SHIFT AND RETREAT!!”_

Noise on the comm line was chaotic and unintelligible, full of shouts and guttural noises of a skirmish before Mark switched channels. “Tactical Command, do you copy? We’re underground, War Packs Zero, One, Two, and Three Prime compromised, Units Alpha, Bravo, Charlie compromised, all units retreat to surface! We’re gettin’ routed, Command, over!”

_“Negative, Lieutenant, stay the course. Major Kyle wants that bunker cleared.”_

He stopped short, exhaling sharply in frustration. “Command, repeat?”

_“Clear the bunker, Lieutenant.”_

Shouts and weapon fire filled the air, coming closer to where they were sneaking through the halls. He motioned his 2IC over, pulling up the new map of the bunker on his omni-tool. “They’re sentencing us to death,” Higgins grumbled. “Plain and simple.”

“Yuh. They wanted bodies, they’ll get ‘em.”

“Yeah, but ours? Or theirs?"

“Yes,” Mark replied with a snort, brow furrowing as they scoured the orange glow. Clear the bunker they were ordered to do, so clear the bunker they would; until time ran out, anyway. “Did Delta squad finish recon?”

Higgins shifted his weapon as he fired up his own omni-tool. “Yep, for all the good it did us. God, what a fucking mess…”

Mark’s omni-tool blinked as the new map showed the newly discovered layout; it might as well have been an ant hive with all the twists and turns that strung the open areas together.

_“Charlie Squad Unit Commander, come in! Delta Squad reporting.”_

“Go ahead,” Mark snapped, closing his omni-tool and motioning for his team to move forward. His nerves jangled in anticipation of the ensuing fight he knew they were about to get in.

_“Sir, we found the charges set around the perimeter and they just went live. You’re in danger of getting buried.”_

Mark cursed blackly. “We know. Time left?”

_“Unknown. We’re trying to splice into the wiring and take over the system, take it offline, but-”_

The comm went dead, radio hissing in his helmet. “Aw, _Scheisse_ … Everyone, out! Get to the surface! Double-time it, soldiers, let’s _move!”_

“But Kyle said-”

“Goddamn _fuck_ what Major Kyle said, his ass ain’t down here about to get blown to _shit!_ MOVE!” Mark bellowed, prepping his AR. “Weapons ready. Engage hostiles at will. Good luck.” His heart dropped further as they ran, sounds of fighting and weapons firing drawing ever closer the faster they moved in the tunnels. He tapped his comm.

“War Pack Zero Prime Alpha One, retreat to surface, repeat, retreat to surface! This place is set to blow! Shetty?”

_“Copy, Shepard! We have our paws full right now, don’t worry about us! See you on the other side!”_ He swapped his comm line back to Command. They didn’t even wait for him to finish IDing himself before they cut in.

_“Lieutenant, get your men out of there. Contact with Delta Squad is lost. Last known transmission showed batarian numbers doubled from earlier.”_

“Y’all gotta be shittin’ me; we’re in a fuckin’ _meat grinder_ here.” He could hear Major Kyle frantically barking orders in the background, his own voice gravelly and low. 

Sympathy bled through the clipped tones on the other end of the radio. _“Shepard. If...if anybody can get people out, it’s you. Make us proud. Good luck.”_

Higgins blinked at him through their HUDs, face pale. “Ooo-rah, right?”

“Fuckin’ A right. Woof, woof, bitch,” Mark sighed as they came upon a wider hallway sloping up; the map showed it leading towards a main chamber before the entrance to the surface. Sounds of growls, weapons discharging, roars, and shouts echoed around them, muzzle flashes casting eerie shadows on the wall as half-shifted wolfmen launched themselves at batarians and savaged them, flushing them into the main chamber. “Weapons at the ready, here we go! No matter what, get to the surface. Forward! Make it count!”

They poured into the large room, Alliance hard suits filling the space and overwhelming the small number of batarians who had managed to escape the wolves’ teeth and claws. Mark lobbed singularity after warp after singularity at them, trying to funnel the insurgents into focal points for his guys as much as he could in the enclosed space. 

A large mass of black fur in a modified hardsuit charged up next to him. Shetty, still wolfman shifted, he realized belatedly as he threw himself into the press of bodies. “Sitrep?” he shouted at her.

“We’re surviving, but how much longer, I don’t know! We _have_ to get to the surface! My guys managed to close off one of the main routes to here, but it won’t hold for long!” she growled back, distracted. She shoved her way beside him, giving them both room. “Gates, watch the flank! _God!!”_

Batarians surged behind them to their right and the chamber rumbled, dust trickling down from the ceiling. Mark gasped as the walls around them buckled and collapsed, explosions in a muffled ring around them heralding the end. _Goddamn it… they fuckin’ did it. This is it, this is the end._ Shetty threw up a biotic barrier curtain around them just before the roof caved in over the teeming mass of bodies. Horrible groans from both the living and the earth smothering them filled his ears, mingling with the static from his comms as he tried to make sense of what happened and subdue the ringing in his ears. The reality of the situation was almost too much to bear. 

They were buried alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Glossary_
> 
> [1]Schiess die Wand an - 'shit at the wall'; aka 'shit hit the fan'
> 
> [2]Verdammte - dammit


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I don't ever, ever wanna look back,  
>  The future's blurry but the past is a trap,  
> I might be staring at my last chance..._ ~Zayde Wolf, Cold Blooded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The violence continues

**_Blooded_** , by potionsmaster

Rating: M for violence

* * *

_2178, underground bunker on Verush's moon, Torfan_

_Survive._

That was Mark’s new objective.

Fuck whatever Kyle claimed needed to happen. At least the bunker collapsing took out all the fuckin’ four-eyes down there with them, too. Saved him some work. Shetty coughed beside him and he kicked rubble off of them, giving them room to squirm to the top. He activated his omni-tool to light the scenario. Carnage greeted his eyes. 

The back portion of the chamber was completely buried, as was the passage his team had come from. He and Shetty had managed to luck into a small pocket towards the entrance; the bracing around the doorway had withstood the charges and afforded them a small respite. Shetty cocked her head to the side, digging at her ear. “Come again?” she whispered harshly. “I… I can’t hear you. Repeat? Command, come in? Repeat?”

The cave-in must have knocked the jammers out of commission. His own comm line started going off the hook. Rocks and debris shifted in small slides and clatters against itself in the hushed gloom as survivors started digging their way out. Mark tapped his comm, still dialed into Command’s channel and immediately regretted it. He brought up his unit’s bio-stats on his omni-tool; about half registered ‘alive’ in various states of health as their suits pinged in with damage assessments while the comm line cleared and connected.

_“-nbelievable! Shepard, come in! C’mon, someone, talk to me, dammit, COME on!”_

“Shepard reporting in. I have Lt. Shetty with me as well. We’re both intact, doin’ an assessment.”

_“Good to hear your voice, Lieutenant. I…”_ Kyle’s voice was on the comm, strained. _“...I was hoping… you all would have been able to get out before this happened, I… I’m sorry.”_

Mark furrowed his brow at the regret in the major’s voice; it was unusual for Kyle to sound so upset. “We’re still gettin’ eyes on the survivors; estimates currently on total losses are about 50%. I fully expect that percentage to be higher when this is all said and done, though. Sir.”

Another dusty, black mass of Alliance-garbed fur slunk up to them with a groan. “Oh, god… that was… yeah.” Mark nodded towards him but kept his focus on the radio chatter. “Objective?”

_“Orders stand. Take who you’ve got, regroup, and take the bunker. Brass says they want results, so give them results.”_

Mark scoffed to himself as he continued checking his units’ bio-stats and helped Shetty and Alenko move rubble from the entrance. Stragglers from the cave-in slowly moved up towards them, wolf-man and human alike, dust-covered ghosts rising from the buried mass grave they were in. Goddamn batarians. “Douglass, thank god you made it… I want you on our six. Keep watch for not-friendlies popping up, too,” Shetty muttered, grasping another partially shifted wolf’s bicep and touching the tips of their snouts together. Mark couldn’t tell what color the other wolf was, he was so covered in earth. Douglass ducked his head and slunk off, pistol at the ready, flashlight sweeping the debris field. 

Finally, the entrance was clear enough for them to start creeping up to the surface. Mark paused. “Sitrep, Command? What’re we lookin’ at?” He glanced at the taller black mass on his three, not used to anybody having height on him. Alenko furrowed his brow, ears pricked as he leaned closer to Mark’s helmet; Mark figured the werewolf could hear the radio through it. Shetty growled softly to herself, hand/claw/paw/he-wasn’t-quite-sure-what-to-call-it on her shotgun.

_“It’s… not good, Shepard. Batarians outnumber you, looks to be three to one. They’re waiting for you to either suffocate down there or be bottlenecked in a killbox the minute you open those doors. Make it count.”_

“So that’s it? Any other advice, Major?” Resignation washed over Mark. The likelihood of him getting to see his son was looking smaller and smaller every minute. Amie was right; he made a promise to Eli he couldn’t keep.

_“Survive, Lieutenant. Take the bunker and survive.”_ Kyle’s voice was flat before the comm cut out. Alenko snorted and rolled his neck, shifting his weight.

“Mutha-humpin’ ooo-rah,” Mark sighed, readying his AR. “Didja hear all that, Shetty?”

“Every damn word,” she snarled. “I hate to say it, but anybody’s best shot is shifters at the front to just decimate whatever we can get our claws on out of the gate and then you humans follow up with support.”

“Don’t forget, we can still use biotics for range, too. I’m shifted, but my amp’s not fried. What about yours?” Alenko pointed out. 

Shetty tipped her head in acknowledgement. “Yeah, but we’re limited in that. We got me, we got you. As far as I know, that’s it for shifters. Shepard here is biotic, too, but I don’t think we’ll be lucky enough to have another one or two at our disposal. We have to be careful not to overextend ourselves. Barriers up, no matter what, though.”

“I can lay a singularity to detonate and punch a hole through as best I can once those doors open, but yeah, we’re it for biotics. I, uh. Don’t have barriers. Shield’s all I got,” Mark chimed in. In truth, that wasn’t the _only_ thing he could do, but...he wasn’t allowed to do the little trick he’d learned unless there were very special circumstances. He’d gotten a better handle on it while he’d been at the Villa, but there were still some unknowns he was figuring out and the Alliance was understandably cautious about it. Alenko tutted at him in concern, dark brown eyes flecking gold in the orange glow of his omni-tool. 

“Well… it… it’s gonna be what it is, I guess. Can’t help it. I’ll try to help as much as I can.” Alenko huffed another sigh and pressed himself to the wall next to the door, blue glow softly emanating from him as he activated his barriers. Shetty did the same.

“Shifters, up front. No quarter, no mercy. Full shift as a last resort; you know the drill. Let’s prove why they bring wolves to a dogfight,” she snarled, teeth bared and gleaming in the low light. Mark still couldn’t quite get used to the fact she was eye level with him in this form; what a goddamn mindfuck it all was. The larger half-shifted wolf-in-a-man’s-shape was mumbling to himself as others pushed forward, shaking their heads and limbs to loosen up for the inevitable battle. Mark strained to hear.

“ _Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!_

_Spear shall be shaken. Shield shall be splintered._

_A sword-day, a_ red _day, ere the sun rises!_

_Ride now, ride now, ride! Ride for ruin and the world's ending!”_

It took Mark a second for it to register, and he grinned as he quietly joined the wolf in finishing it. _“Death! Death! Death! Forth Eorlingas!”_ The dark wolf’s head snapped up as he caught Mark’s eyes and Shetty groaned.

“God, you _both_ are such dorks… I will laugh on your graves if those are literally your last words.”

“I can think of worse ones,” Alenko responded with a chuckle deep in his chest. “Like, ‘what’s this thing do?’ or ‘watch this,’ heh.”

Shetty groaned again and Mark could swear he heard her eyes roll to the back of her elongated skull. “If you’re _quite_ done,” she grumbled. “Three… two… one… GO, GO, GO!”

The doors shoved open and Mark immediately threw a singularity in the middle of a group of batarians, yanking them off their feet. Shetty, Alenko, and the remaining handful of wolves rushed past him, teeth and claws bared as they slammed into the remaining wall of batarians. He tossed a warp and it detonated the singularity, clearing a small path. He and his team rushed out into the fray. 

* * *

  
  
  


Blood. 

Blood was everywhere, human and batarian both. Seconds stretched to minutes stretched to hours stretched into unknown passages of time, seemingly racing by and at a standstill all at once. He’d given up using his AR at such close range, choosing instead to meet his opponents with his omni-blade blazing and his pistol. They did not disappoint in greeting them; another batarian springing up to take the fallen one’s place without fail. 

They’d managed to bring the pain to the batarians when they’d exited the bunker and rushed them on the surface of the moon. Mark had reiterated Major Kyle’s orders to the piddly remainder of his unit: no mercy, no quarter. Blood for blood, and goddamnit, those fuckin’ four-eyes were going to give up every ounce they’d taken if he had to extract it from them himself. Higgins wisely kept his mouth shut and his head down as they fought, batarians falling left and right around Mark’s feet, blood mixing with the dirt beneath their boots and making a disgusting, sticky mud. He had no idea how long they’d been fighting.

Mark’s limbs were getting heavy; every thrust of his omni-blade was a lesson in frustration at wanting to move slower than the fight would allow, every pull on the trigger delayed from fatigue, every call of energy for his biotics threatening to be the last one before his amp overheated and it blew. He tossed a glance around the battlefield, surveying. Both sides had lost a significant amount of soldiers, small pockets of skirmishes still dotting the moon’s craggy surface. The only saving grace about being above ground was that the air was marginally less stale from the putrid stench of freshly dead bodies trapped in the bunker. 

The batarian in front of him lifted its arm and the orange flash of the omni-tool rendered his pistol useless as it overheated; he didn’t even think, he gathered a ball of dark energy in his hand and executed a quick jerking motion, yanking the batarian off its feet and sending it drifting lazily through the air. The urge to turn the intention of the energy field tickled in the back of his head, but he resisted. Too many witnesses. Another Alliance soldier made quick work of the bellowing alien, peppering it with bullets until the body floated bonelessly to the ground, oily blood pooling in the dirt underneath it.

_“On your six!”_ came a harsh, guttural shout. Mark spun on the spot in time to see another batarian lunging at him with an omni-blade open. He immediately brought his arms up to block, orange-glowing blade scraping down his bracers and burning away the ablative ceramic. All too quickly it would sear through the under-armor and reach his skin. The batarian grunted and shoved at him, trying to push him off balance and get room to swing. Mark smashed his forehead into the batarian’s, staggering it as he scrambled to unsheath his own omni-blade. The batarian managed to punch him in the gut and cupped its free hand around the back of Mark’s neck, keeping them far closer than he ever wanted to be with one. 

He rammed his knee between its legs, trying and failing to shake it loose. Padded feet pounded in a cadence as someone else ran up to them and he hoped beyond hope it was a friendly and not another fuckin’ four-eyes. He didn’t think he’d survive two on one; not this time.

A snarl and flash of claws and teeth in fur black as the sky above barreled into them, catching the batarian on the shoulder and ripping them apart, the werewolf riding the batarian to the ground as it dugs its claws in the alien’s ribcage and eviscerated it. Mark staggered to the side a few feet, swaying as he tried to catch his breath; it felt like getting hit with a goddamn baseball bat in the ribs. He blinked at his savior, registering the visual in bits and pieces. Matte gray armor plates. Alliance officer bars. Alpha insignia above the werewolf emblem. _'Alenko’_ in thin white lettering on the bracers and chest piece: Shetty’s 2IC. 

Once the partially shifted wolf was satisfied the alien was dead, he turned towards Mark, dark eyes darting over him and nostrils flaring as he sloped closer. “You doing alright?” His voice was so deep, Mark could swear he felt it more in his guts than hear it; words an echo of their conversation previously in the day room.

“Yeah,” he puffed, hunched over with his hands on his knees to try and recuperate. Alenko activated his omni-tool and brought up a body scan.

“May I?” he rumbled. Mark nodded assent and the were’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he studied the stats. “Seem to be no worse for wear physically, except for your armor. Speaking of which, is the blood on your arm yours? Or theirs?” He gestured over his shoulder to the pile of meat and viscera.

Mark fumbled with his bracer, still panting heavily; the kevlar enforced weave over the squish skin was torn, a long, bloody scratch along the rip barely registering in comparison to the grinding ache that was his body. “Huh… I… don’t know,” he replied dumbly, staring at it. “I don’t _think_ his omni-blade touched me. It would’ve burned it, right?” He glanced up at the were, awful comprehension clicking in his head. “...right?”

The wolf’s dark amber eyes met his own, wide. “That’s right… But… I don’t think _I_ hit you. Did I? I was certain I didn’t; I _couldn’t_ have, I tackled the batarian, not _you,_ I-”  
  


“-Hey. Alenko.” Mark shook his head, trying to catch his breath. “There’s a shit ton of rocks around, maybe I hit one? I mean, I couldn’t actually tell you if I had it before you joined in or not. No sense borrowin’ trouble right now; we’ll deal with it later, when it becomes an issue. _If_ it becomes an issue. And I highly doubt it will.” His words were more confident than he himself was; Alenko looked absolutely distraught at the idea.

“Oh, god… What’ve I done?” His ears drooped to the side as he stared at his blood-stained claws. 

Mark shrugged. “Maybe nothin’. And, honestly? I’d rather be a werewolf than dead. You saved my life, no matter what. That’s not somethin’ to brush aside lightly.” Alenko fixed him with a ‘look’ and dropped his claws to his sides.

“Alive, but at what cost? Human-shifter relations are strained at best, you know that.”

“I seriously think you’re makin’ much ado about nothin’,” Mark replied, sweat dripping down his temples behind his HUD. “Like I said. I would choose bein’ a shapeshifter any day over the alternative.” He checked his pistol; the electronic attack had worn off and it was serviceable again. There was a rocky outcropping to the side he didn’t trust, but Higgins was doing a scan near it. The battlefield was mostly quiet, the Alliance still standing, few as they were.

“You don’t understand,” Alenko rumbled quietly, shaking his head slowly. “What I’ve potentially done… the brass’ll have my head.” 

Mark scoffed. “So I’ll get reassigned to a different unit and have a few more specialized skills. Big whoop.” Alenko growled at him.

“Stop being so cavalier about it. Does the word ‘manslaughter’ mean anything to you?” Mark shook his head. “Well, it does to me. I could be charged with it, depending on how charitable the brass feels and how this turns out.” 

That was a rather daunting prospect Mark hadn’t considered. The law considered a human who had been changed into a werewolf a manslaughter charge on the attacker regardless of any of the circumstances due to technicalities; even if the victim survived, they were no longer human and their life was effectively ‘taken’ from them. He gazed out over the battlefield: Shetty had her shotgun out and pointed at a wounded batarian on the ground, clawed foot pressing its neck into the earth as it coughed at her. Higgins had moved on from the group of rocks and was cautiously edging around Shetty and another were dragging itself towards the group. A tall, dark shadow appeared next to him again, making him snatch at his freshly-cooled pistol. “Alenko? Jesus _fuck_ , man, I almost shot your hairy ass… Christ, heh.”

The werewolf gave a small huff, though Mark didn’t know if it was in exasperation or something else. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t, for what it’s worth,” came the low growl of his voice. “Not quite the way I would expect a life debt to be repaid, you know.”

Mark gave an abrupt laugh at that. The deadpan sense of humor didn’t seem to have gone away with the situation at hand and the potential issue that was incubating. “First one doesn’t count, is that it?” 

“Something like that,” Alenko replied, distracted. His nostrils flared and ears pricked over his forehead as he drew himself up to his full height and peered at the rocky outcropping. “Did you hear…?” Just then a scuffle broke out behind them, Douglass giving a coughing roar in warning.

“Sheeeee- _it!”_ Mark snatched his AR from his maglock harness and booked it toward the dusty brown wolf, Alenko and Higgins in close pursuit. “SHETTY! INCOMING!!” A handful of batarians surged out from behind another group of rocks hiding a foxhole, weapons blazing and sleek, scaly four-legged beasts with gaping mouths full of teeth that rivaled the weres themselves. _Varren_. He unleashed a singularity at the heart of the group, pulling three off the field with helpless snarls and snaps of their jaws and Higgins joined him in opening fire at them, Alenko concentrating on helping his packmates with the batarians. 

Shetty was wrestling with the one she’d been holding before; the batarian had been able to capitalize on the distraction the others had made and managed to wriggle out from her grasp. Her firearm was useless as it was flung to the ground in the fight. She scrabbled for purchase against the batarian, teeth scraping harmlessly against the armor guarding the back of its neck. 

The other wolf was preoccupied with dispatching the rest of the varren; he had shed the rest of his armor and gone to full shift, meeting the war beasts on the ground in a furious fight. “ _Fuck!_ Douglass…hang on!” he heard Alenko growl beside him before charging off to help his squaddie. Mark found himself dashing towards Shetty. She was managing to hold her own well enough, matching the batarian hit for hit. She bellowed in its face before sinking teeth on its shoulder and viciously shaking it, claws slashing at its chestplate.

Higgins released a drone and directed it to the group of varren that Alenko and Douglass were fighting. All it did was distract a couple of the beasts into trying to engage it and when it dissipated in an electric burst a moment later, the zap it gave them shocked them towards Shetty and the other batarian. One grabbed her leg and yanked, throwing her off-kilter and making her lose her grip. The batarian gave a triumphant yell as the other war beasts grabbed her wrist and dragged her away from the batarian with the other varren. Mark finally reached them, unsheathing his omni-blade. “Go help Shetty!” he ordered Higgins, realizing too late what the batarian in front of him was grabbing until the barrel of Shetty’s abandoned shotgun was staring him straight in the face. He had just enough time to start to yell before the world erupted into a flash of orange and then a blinding hot pain smashed his HUD into his skin, shattering it like glass and closing him in darkness. The ground cocooned him as he fell backwards, ears ringing.

_“SHEPARD!!”_

The word echoed in his skull, bouncing off his brain before drifting away on the tide of his pulse rushing through his head. A dark shadow rose above him and then he couldn’t breathe; something smashed into the left side of his ribs and drove the air from his lungs. He gasped and struggled to grab something, _anything_ , that would help him get up, help him get away and kill that motherfuckin’ shitstain. They’d taken his family from him, his whole life, and now it looked like they were going to finish the job. _Eli…_ Whatever it was that had forced the breath from him was continuing to pound on his chest plate and he was powerless to stop it.

He tried to call up his biotics, maybe toss a singularity to get them off him, but he couldn’t see well enough to place it. His eyes were ruined; there was nothing but dark in the left and hints of light and shadow in the right. Not like it mattered. Not anymore. He was going to die here. And he wouldn’t get to say goodbye one last time to Eli.

Another veil of darkness clouded the first as he struggled to breathe, fought to keep conscious, to move away from the crushing weight that was settling on his chest and made it impossible for him to get enough air in his lungs. Unintelligible snarls and grunts, growls and roars resonated in his head, slow and thick as his heartbeat thundering in his chest. Everything hurt. He couldn’t see, could hardly breathe, couldn’t _think_ . Pain. Grinding, aching, burning _pain_ , all lumped together into one, large hurt in the shape of him. He tried calling his biotics again, but for what, he really didn’t know anymore. Affirmation that he wasn’t going to die? The dueling shadows above him were fading with the sounds, echoes in eternity and gone forevermore. _All is lost. This is hell. Nothin' but the burning dead and lost souls driftin' the battlefield, trying to find home but destined to wander forever._ He choked back a sob and tasted blood.

_Goodbye._

He wouldn’t get to say goodbye. 

That, more than anything, was what he vehemently wished for as he struggled to breathe. _Be a good boy, Eli…_ He coughed, feeling blood spatter on his chin. Only one wisp of shadow was above him now and he labored to turn his head towards it, imploring. 

“Shepard…”

“I… I can’t see. Can’t _breathe_ …” he gasped, clutching blindly. A large, thick hand grasped his, another stroking his fingers reassuringly, giving him a sense of calm he hadn’t felt in years. It must be the end. Nothing else mattered anymore, this was it. His eyes were heavy as he sank into the relaxation the angel of death hovering above him gave as a gift. A small zing went through his arm as the thick fingers laced through his, the final burst of his biotics petering out. No need for them anymore. 

“I know, Shepard. You’re hurt. Badly. I… I think I can make it better. I mean, it would mean for certain that you were one of us, there’d be no question anymore-”

Mark could hardly understand the words as blankness tugged at his mind. Blessed relief. He squeezed the hand in his with as much strength as he could manage, willing the thought to the battlefield angel; he couldn’t speak anymore. No energy, no breath in him, no life. He was so tired… 

_Goodbye…_

There was a small gasp as the zing in his arm crawled up and back into his head.

Then everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, they both are dorky enough to quote Theoden from Lord of the Rings, lol
> 
> Also, [The Hunted](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12108594/chapters/27454971) is canon for this universe, as well. It might make a bit more sense with what's going on with the biotics, but it's not necessary to read if you don't want to


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The stage is set for my people, yeah  
>  Coming back like a sequel, yeah  
> So hot, I'm a fever, yeah  
> Like the white wolf, I'm gonna make you a believer, yeah..._ ~Zayde Wolf, Cold Blooded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First time's always the one that hurts the most ;)

**_Blooded_** , by potionsmaster

Rating: M for violence

* * *

_ 2178, surface of Verush's moon, Torfan _

His body revolted against itself, screams tearing themselves from his throat with precious breath he didn’t have in his shredded lungs. Fire erupted over his skin, itching and burning all over. Rigid panels stubbornly held his body in place where it needed to bend, refusing to give an inch.

“Hey… try to relax, don’t fight this! It’ll just hurt worse. Trust me, I know.” 

Strong arms tried to hold him in place, momentary relief flooding his body before a fresh wave of bone-breaking pain bent him over and sent him through another trip of absolute hell. If he thought everything hurt before, he had been sorely mistaken.  _ This. This  _ was agony, whatever  _ this _ was. More ablative plates popped loose, the under-armor rending as his body reshaped itself. He gasped, throwing himself on the ground and hugging it for all he was worth as his chest filled and chased some of the mental fog back.  _ Air _ .

At least he could goddamn  _ breathe _ again. 

Death.

Smoke.

Sour, acrid stenches mingled with the harsh stink of batarians and softer human scent, earthy musky smells assaulting him. His bad shoulder ached and he couldn’t fully extend his arm, which was weird as shit because he didn’t remember taking any direct hits to it. He flexed his fingers, trying to find purchase in the dirt only to find he couldn’t grasp anything. His fingers wouldn’t cooperate; they were nubs. Way too short to be his fingers. And what unholy feeling was it that scraped against his nails? They were much longer than he remembered if they were catching on the rough surface. He brought his hand to his face, trying to feel since he still couldn’t see shit and winced at the soreness as his claw bumped his cheek. 

_ Claw _ . 

Fresh panic tore at him and he scrabbled, lurching into an unknown  _ thing _ before bouncing off and landing in a softer pile of bodies.  _ Get away, gotta get away from this, gotta get away NOW. _

He cautiously lifted his head, trying to breathe a minute. Smells were heightened right now, probably due to him not being able to see worth a damn, he figured. That was usable. He took a cautious step forward and promptly got tangled in a body’s limbs, batarian from the stink of it. That was it; he couldn’t help it. He thrashed, trying to free himself. He needed out  _ now _ .

Calmness flowed through him, false in its source; he knew it wasn’t coming from him. Such a strange feeling, almost like an anesthetic, but it was equally frightening in and of itself. Pictures, feelings, emotions, sounds,  _ smells _ all flickered through his thoughts, giving voice to words he only heard in his mind. 

He tried to yell, but he couldn’t get his mouth to form the words. Whuffs, grunts, and random whining met his ears instead.  _ That’s comin’ out of  _ my _ mouth? The fuck…  _ He couldn’t see. He couldn’t talk. He couldn’t make his fucking hands work no matter how hard he tried, and much as he tried to stand up straight, he couldn’t seem to do more than laboriously move himself on all fours, with his gimpy arm. He yelled in frustration and his ears pinned to his head as an echoing bay of fright bounced off the rocky walls of the valley they were in. He did the only thing left he could do. 

He bolted.

Air ruffled over his skin, making it itch uncomfortably in the fact that it shouldn’t have been noticeable, and something skidded in front of him. A heavy mass stopped him in his tracks as he slammed into it. The voice grunted at the impact. 

_ Hey, hey, hey… where’re you going? I’m right here, it’s Kaidan. You’re alright. _

Something smooth and leathery touched itself gently to his nose and a wash of calm flowed over him again on wisps of musk and warm spices, vanilla mingling with clove and  _ earth,  _ the body he collided with pressing back on him.  _ Comfort. Belonging.  _ He couldn’t understand why such a random thing would calm him down, or how it logically would. Belatedly he realized Alenko was in full wolf form and his stomach clenched back in a hard pit. Much as it didn’t bother him to be around weres and interact with them, it still was rather daunting to be around them when they were shifted.  _ Get us the hell out of here _ . He leaned heavily against the warm fur, not trusting anything around him but the sturdy companion by his side.

Fresh blood and meat smells filled his nostrils as the wind shifted, mixing with the scent of more dead and oily batarian stink. A dull roar in the distance pounded in his skull, making him swipe at his ears to get it to stop. Shadows flickered in and out of his ruined vision, not making any sense. Burning smoke choked him when the winds shifted again, gagging him and making him stumble. He couldn’t feel Alenko next to him anymore; he froze. A lone wail sounded in the distance, low and haunting. It filled him with despair. 

He couldn’t help it, his own voice rose in mourning to match the chorus in the distance.

Their voices warbled in the air, soon joined by more. Slightly different tones set apart each group, but the message remained the same. And then it stopped. Alenko returned, pressing up against him again, their bodies almost evenly matched. A leathery coolness touched the tip of his nose once more.

Mark startled, not expecting it and he swiped blindly at the direction it came from with both stiff hands before he fell off-balance and tumbled into the dirt. Air met his first blow, but the second grazed his overly-long nails against something soft but solid all at once and a surprised growl met his ears. He touched the damp spot on his nose. Fur traced along it, fingers not cooperating once again.  _ The fuck...what the...what’s happenin’ to me?  _

_ You’re one of us now. _

The voice attached to the thought in his head seemed almost pained.

_ No, I’m not, this is a nightmare. I’m gonna wake up in my bunk, gonna suit up to drop, and this is all a bad dream because nerves.  _

_ I can assure you, this is real. I think you sliced my lip...ow. Try to relax, Shepard. I’m right here, right beside you. _

The weight of the realization crashed into him, stealing his newfound breath. He started scrabbling in the rocks, trying to run.  _ Eli! _

Thunder rumbled closer, bringing with it the ground shaking and more humans with cold metal and ozone smells floating through the air towards him.

“Thank god you’re here! We’re… we survived, but just barely! And we’ve got werewolves running rampant, uncontrolled-” Higgins’ voice was as broken and rough as the moon’s terrain around them.

“Where’s the human ground unit commander? Shepard?”

“I… I don’t know,” Higgins fretted. “Last I saw of his hard suit biostats, he was badly wounded. I saw one of the wolves near him, but... I lost track after that. It went offline.”

“Extraction point reached, reports of the war packs breaking rank. Orders?” Unintelligible radio chatter and feedback filled Mark’s ears, strangely loud enough for him to be aware of without his earpiece. He scrabbled up through the rock, trying to figure out where to go next. Alenko’s panic and dismay washed over him and he fought his own bubbling up in his stomach.

_ Not me, not me, I’m not out of control, I just need to get home. Eli! Gotta get home… _

“Acknowledged, Command. All wolves to be neutralized. Engage at will!”

Terror ripped through Mark as he bolted, only exacerbated by Alenko’s own fear. He yelped as a sharp sting bit into his thigh, darkness rushing over him once more.

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I'm cold blooded  
>  I'm cold blooded  
> Ice in my veins  
> Never gonna run  
> Venom on my fangs  
> Fire on my tongue  
> I'm cold blooded  
> It's all or nothing  
> If I go down  
> Gonna burn with the sun  
> Won't quit now  
> 'Til I'm sitting on the throne  
> I'm cold blooded..._ ~Zayde Wolf, Cold Blooded

**_Blooded_** , by potionsmaster

Rating: M for violence

* * *

  
  


_ 2178, Arcturus Station: Patton Memorial Hospital _

  
  


Everything was a muddled blur. Pain. Flashes of brightness interspersed with long bouts of darkness, floating on nothing until he realized he was swimming in glue, struggling to move his limbs. They were so heavy… Beeping in the background kept a steady rhythm, annoying in how reliable the pattern was, never growing louder or quieter, always constant. He breathed deep.

Antiseptic. 

Rubbing alcohol.

Bleach.

Vanilla and clove, shot through with earthy musk. 

“Welcome back, Lt. Shepard,” a falsely cheery voice said to his right. “We were wondering when you’d make an appearance.” The surface next to him dipped as the owner of the voice sat next to him.

“Where am I?”

“Patton Memorial, on Arcturus. We, ah. We were saved quite a bit of work on you, from what I understand. Only thing we really needed to do was stabilize you enough for surgery on your eyes and your shoulder. Do you remember that?” Mark nodded; it sounded vaguely familiar. “Well, the good news is that the bandages are able to be taken off today. Are you ready to see again?”

“Cut the foreplay, doc…”

A dry chuckle met his ears as light slowly increased. “Keep your eyes closed as long as you need to adjust. The lights are low currently, but you can increase them if you see fit as your comfort increases. I’d go slow regardless.”

One last flash of brightness stabbed through his eyes as the bandage came off and he screwed his eyes shut. He was exhausted, eyelids swollen and puffy. It was a lesson in frustration to crack them open and keep them that way for more than a microsecond.

“Hey there…” 

He turned his head to the somewhat familiar sound at this point, eyes open a slit. Alenko was sitting in the chair, face drawn, tired, pale, and relieved all at once.

“Hello again…”

* * *

  
  


The first thing Mark noticed was that Alenko wasn’t there. Whatever deity was out there, help him, but he almost missed the guy; the dark-haired werewolf had been by his side practically from the start, talking to him and answering questions, shifting the pillows behind Mark without even being asked, and in general being a genial pest so much that Mark called him a ‘nanny’ at one point. However overbearing Alenko was, though, he was also the one thing keeping Mark sane while he was trapped in the hospital. He’d only seen Amie once, though he wasn’t really sure if the conversation had been worth it, and hadn’t even seen Eli yet, though he supposed it was for the same reason why he was chained; Mark was acutely aware of the thick, padded cuffs attaching his wrists to the medical bed.

He sighed, trying to get comfortable in the bed and ignore the sheer feeling of  _ empty _ he had; the air was stale without Alenko around. It was a total mindfuck, to be certain. Alenko had patiently explained what happened and did his best to answer Mark’s questions about his new status. His memory was faulty and he kept drifting to sleep at the most inopportune times, but the other were never seemed to mind.  _ Shifter _ , Mark corrected his own vocabulary. Alenko had said they preferred to be called  _ shifters _ to  _ weres _ . He’d gone off on a tangent about the etymology of the word ‘werewolf’ and how ‘wer’ was actually an old English word for ‘man’, and blah blah blah identity politics, but werewolves weren’t seen as human in the eyes of the rest of the population, so calling them ‘weres’ was a backhanded insult and please say ‘shifter’, thankyouverymuch.

Mark didn’t think it appropriate to ask about  _ dog _ ; he knew enough to know it was very much an upfront insult and the last thing he wanted to do was piss off his only friend at the moment. Maybe Alenko actually  _ had _ gone home and taken a shower; Mark had teased him about it a bit the other day. The strangest thing was that he really didn’t mind that Alenko hadn’t scrubbed up anything more than a quick refresh in the on-suite bathroom in his hospital room. He would have thought that having an unwashed body near him in the closed-in room would have been insufferable, but the warm, spiced smell that permeated the air when the other shifter was around soothed him and lulled him into a calm he was loathe to admit he had started depending on. It had gotten to the point where he didn’t consciously notice the scent until it was conspicuously absent; then his brain went into overdrive and was clamoring for it, screaming at him he needed to go find the source and stay near it at all costs, otherwise the sheer panic would drive him mad.

The door opened and he snapped his head around to look at it, not bothering to hide the hopeful anticipation that it might be Alenko. His nostrils flared; soft human scent, antiseptic and ozone, metal and polished leather. Nurse. And soldier. But not the one he was looking for. 

“First Lt. Mark Andrew Shepard?” The soldier stood ramrod straight, edging into the room with a few other ones in uniform behind him. They had their weapons out and at the ready. The nurse looked tense, lips pursed as she came over to Mark and gathered stats.

“Yes…” he replied cautiously, looking between the soldier and the nurse. The soldier came forward and handed him a packet of papers, tucking it into his hand by the bedrail it was cuffed to. “What’s goin’ on?” His heart rate spiked a bit and he took a slow breath. Where was Kaidan?

The nurse looked at him sympathetically and the soldier cleared his throat. “I’m Lt. Junior Grade Crawford. You’ve been served, sir.”

Mark felt his stomach drop out of his body. “I- _ what? _ I’ve been  _ what?” _

“Served. Divorce papers, sir, I apologize.”   
  


“I... _ why?” _

“I don’t know, sir. I was only told to deliver it. And also inquire about Second Lt. Kaidan Alenko.”

The nurse surreptitiously adjusted his pillows and kept her head down, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. He glanced behind Crawford at the other soldiers, weapons still out, and his heart rate spiked again. Cold sweat started dotting his lip.

“What happened to him?”

“He’s in the brig. And he’s been charged with manslaughter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ Roll credits, lol.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMXMNfuzJ1g) Stay tuned for part two, coming soon!


End file.
